“Electric motor vehicle” means a vehicle as defined in United Nations regulation No. 100 concerning the homologation of battery-powered electric vehicles.
In order to provide the vehicle with increased range, a substantial reserve of electrical power is required. This leads to the use of a battery that is relative bulky, relatively heavy and may present risks from an electrical point of view.
It is known practice to use a “passive” fuse to isolate an electrical element when the latter delivers an electrical current higher than a value determined by the characteristics of the fuse. The fuse then operates like a cutout switch. However, the fuse reacts only to an electrical current and does not make it possible to isolate the electrical element in the event of other malfunctions on the electrical circuit.
It is also possible to provide controlled switches for isolating an electrical element. However, these controlled switches are not always fast enough to protect people who are likely to be in contact with the electrical element. Moreover, the controlled switch may also reconnect the electrical element even though the electrical malfunction is not fully corrected.
Other cutout switches are known, for example those described in documents EP0639844, EP0688699, EP0791942, EP0936648, WO9731385. Such cutout switches are not satisfactory in terms of speed and/or resistance to electrical arcs.
There also exist cutout switches with pyrotechnic elements, as described in documents EP0665566 or FR2869450. However, these devices are designed for particular systems, such as airbag systems.